Disclosure (1994 film)

Disclosure is a 1994 American erotic thriller film directed by Barry Levinson, starring Michael Douglas and Demi Moore. It is based on Michael Crichton's novel of the same name.[2] The cast also includes Donald Sutherland, Caroline Goodall and Dennis Miller. The film is a combination thriller and slight mystery in an office setting within the computer industry in the mid-1990s. The main focus of the story, from which the film and book take their titles, is the issue of sexual harassment and its power structure. The film received mixed reviews from critics but was a box office success grossing $214 million against its $50 million budget.

Disclosure
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBarry Levinson
Produced by
Screenplay byPaul Attanasio
Based onDisclosure
by Michael Crichton
Starring
Music byEnnio Morricone
CinematographyTony Pierce-Roberts
Edited byStu Linder
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • December 9, 1994 (1994-12-09)
Running time
128 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$55 million[1]
Box office$214 million[1]

Plot

Bob Garvin, a technology company founder, plans to retire when his company, Digicom, merges with a larger company. Production line manager Tom Sanders expects to be promoted to run the CD-ROM division. Instead, Meredith Johnson, a former girlfriend of Tom's, is promoted to the post. Meredith calls Tom into her office to discuss some operations, then sexually forces herself onto him. He initially reciprocates, then rebuffs her. Meredith, angry, screams a threat for spurning her.

The next day, Meredith has filed a sexual harassment complaint against Tom with legal counsel Philip Blackburn. To save the merger from a scandal, DigiCom officials demand that Tom accept reassignment to another location. Otherwise, he will lose his stock options in the new company. His career will be ruined, however, as the other location is scheduled for sale after the merger, leaving Tom jobless. Tom receives an anonymous e-mail from "A Friend" that directs him to Seattle attorney Catherine Alvarez, who specializes in sexual harassment cases. Tom decides to sue DigiCom, alleging that it was Meredith who harassed him. The initial mediation goes badly for Tom as a tearful Meredith blames him.

Garvin proposes that if Tom drops the matter, he will not have to transfer, causing Tom to suspect that Meredith's accusations are vulnerable. Tom remembers mis-dialing a number on his cell phone during the encounter with Meredith but not hanging up. This inadvertently left a recording of the incident on a colleague's voicemail. Tom plays the recording at the next meeting and discredits Meredith. DigiCom agrees to a settlement calling for Meredith to quietly be eased out following the merger.

As Tom celebrates his apparent victory, he receives another e-mail from "A Friend" warning that all is not what it seems. Tom overhears Meredith telling Philip that even though the harassment accusation attempt failed, they will make Tom look incompetent at the next morning's merger conference. If the problems with the CD-ROMs are shown as coming from the production line, which is under Tom's responsibility, he can be fired for cause.

Tom attempts to look for clues in the company database, but his access privileges have been revoked. He remembers that the merging company's executives have a virtual reality demonstration machine that has access to company databases. As he gets into DigiCom's files, he sees Meredith is deleting them. Tom receives a call from a Malaysian colleague who is able to fax Tom copies of incriminating memos and videos. They show that Meredith and the head of operations in Malaysia agreed to change the production specifications that Tom had laid down, without his knowledge, to gain favor with the Malaysian government. The production changes had caused the problems afflicting the CD-ROMs that now threatened to destroy Tom's career.

When Tom makes his presentation at the conference, Meredith brings up the production problems, but he is now able to publicly show the evidence exposing her direct involvement in causing defects with the hardware. Meredith's accusation that Tom is mounting a last-ditch effort of revenge on her fails and she is fired by Garvin, who subsequently announces that the merger has been completed and then names Stephanie Kaplan to head up the Seattle operation, a decision that Tom is pleased with, especially when she publicly highlights his contributions and says that she is relying on him to be her right hand man going forward.

Tom subsequently asks Stephanie's son, Spencer, if he knows "A Friend". Spencer says he is the research assistant of Professor Arthur Friend at the University of Washington. Tom realizes that Spencer had access to Friend's office computer, enabling Stephanie (via her son) to have previously warned him as "A Friend" when he was in trouble. A gratified Tom is happy to resume his position as the Head of Manufacturing.

Cast

Production

Michael Crichton sold the movie rights for $1 million before the novel was published. Miloš Forman was originally attached to direct but left due to creative differences with Crichton. Barry Levinson and Alan J. Pakula were in contention to take the helm and Levinson was hired.

Annette Bening was originally set to play Meredith until she became pregnant and soon dropped out. Geena Davis and Michelle Pfeiffer were then considered before Levinson decided to cast Demi Moore. Crichton wrote the character Mark Lewyn for the film specifically with Dennis Miller in mind. The character from the book was somewhat modified for the screenplay to fit Miller's personality.

The virtual reality corridor sequence was designed by Industrial Light & Magic.[3]

Filming locations

The movie was filmed in and around Seattle, Washington.[4] The fictional corporation DigiCom is located in Pioneer Square, on a set which was constructed for the film. Production designer Neil Spisak said, "DigiCom needed to have a hard edge to it, with lots of glass and a modern look juxtaposed against the old red brick which is indigenous to the Pioneer Square area of Seattle. Barry liked the idea of using glass so that wherever you looked you'd see workers in their offices or stopping to chat. This seemed to fit the ominous sense that Barry was looking for, a sort of Rear Window effect, where you're looking across at people in their private spaces."[3]

Also shown are the Washington State Ferries and Capt. Johnston Blakely Elementary School on Bainbridge Island, where Douglas's character's family lives. Other locations include Washington Park Arboretum, Volunteer Park, the Four Seasons Hotel on University St., Pike Place Market, and Smith Tower (Alvarez's law office).[5] The director of photography was British cinematographer Tony Pierce-Roberts.

Soundtrack

The score of Disclosure was composed, orchestrated and conducted by Ennio Morricone. Original Motion Picture Soundtrack from the Film Disclosure was released by Virgin Records on January 24, 1995.[6]

Track listing
  1. "Serene Family" − 4:11
  2. "An Unusual Approach" − 7:07
  3. "With Energy and Decision" − 2:07
  4. "Virtual Reality" − 6:24
  5. "Preparation and Victory" − 4:04
  6. "Disclosure" − 0:49
  7. "Sad Family" − 1:29
  8. "Unemployed!" − 1:10
  9. "Sex and Computers" − 2:50
  10. "Computers and Work" − 2:00
  11. "Sex and Power" − 2:33
  12. "First Passacaglia" − 4:21
  13. "Second Passacaglia" − 1:41
  14. "Third Passacaglia" − 4:33
  15. "Sex, Power and Computers" − 4:23[7]

Reception

Critic Roger Ebert called the film "basically a launch pad for sex scenes" and gave it only two stars out of a possible four. On the other hand, Ian Nathan of Empire magazine called it "genuinely gripping", further stating that "Demi Moore makes an awesome femme fatale." It currently has a rating of 59% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 61 reviews.

Disclosure was a financial success, grossing $214 million worldwide ($83 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales and $131 million in other territories), against a budget of about $55 million.[8][9] It became one of director Barry Levinson's most successful films after his initial successes with Good Morning, Vietnam and Rain Man.

In a review, Nathan Rabin described the film as superior to its source novel: "If there were an Academy Award for Best Screen Adaptation Of A Screamingly Awful, Viciously Sexist Novel, Disclosure would triumph. The film takes a preachy, disingenuous, and poorly written jeremiad against sexually aggressive women and turns it into a sleek, sexy, and only moderately sexist piece of Hollywood entertainment."[10] Rabin also argued, however, that ultimately the film's cast and crew could only "elevate the film to the level of sleek mediocrity."[10]

Year-end lists

The adult animated sitcom Big Mouth parodied the film in "Disclosure the Movie: The Musical" (season 3 episode 10), featuring a raunchy stage musical adaptation starring pre-teen students.[13]

gollark: That comes under "certain lyric things".
gollark: If you do "lyric but without certain lyric things" that is perfectly acceptable.
gollark: That would be fine, really?
gollark: I see.
gollark: Er, maximum.

See also

References
  1. "Disclosure (1994) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  2. "Douglas, Moore Star in Adaptation of Crichton's Novel on Harassment Reversal". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  3. Disclosure DVD (2000). Production notes. Warner Home Video.
  4. Lyke, M.L. (August 10, 1994). "Crichton's 'Disclosure' filming in Seattle". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). (Seattle Post-Intelligencer). p. F5.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-19. Retrieved 2010-02-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Amazon.com: Disclosure (1994 Film): Music". Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  7. "Disclosure [Original Soundtrack] - Ennio Morricone". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  8. "Weekend Box Office Disclosure' Is Hot on a Slow Weekend". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
  9. "'Disclosure' Edges Out 'Santa' at the Box Office Movies: Much-hyped sexual-harassment drama pushes aside the Tim Allen heavyweight". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
  10. Disclosure Nathan Rabin, The Dissolve, August 16, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  11. Simon, Jeff (January 1, 1995). "Movies: Once More, with Feeling". The Buffalo News. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  12. Craft, Dan (December 30, 1994). "Success, Failure and a Lot of In-between; Movies '94". The Pantagraph. p. B1.
  13. "'BIG MOUTH' SEASON 3: CREATOR ANDREW GOLDBERG ON HOW AND WHY THEY MADE THE 'DISCLOSURE' MUSICAL EPISODE". Newsweek.
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